


you say sorry just for show

by luckysam78



Series: the ricky goldsworth case files [2]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Death, Injury, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Murder, Non-Graphic Violence, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-06-24 03:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19715041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckysam78/pseuds/luckysam78
Summary: no matter how hard he tries, ricky’s past always catches up to him





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> if you haven't read book 1 yet, read it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245280/chapters/45764440)! 
> 
> also, technically Night Night is involved with the mob but here, he’s involved in gangs welcome to sam sucks at sticking to the canon

The last time Ricky lied to Tinsley was the time that he ruined everything and put his boyfriend’s life in danger. Now, he hadn’t lied to Tinsley since and had abandoned his job for real in order to spend time with Tinsley and to ensure their safety and privacy. C.C. and Ricky had slowly eased their way back into a relationship after C.C. gave Ricky a second chance. The first date was filled with tension and awkward laughter but by the end of the second date, Ricky and C.C. were sharing anecdotes and giggling at jokes like they used to. 

There were times where C.C. would sometimes suspect that Ricky was lying or times when C.C. felt insecure or not good enough and Ricky was always there to comfort him and to assure him that he was more than enough. Ricky didn’t mind quitting his job; he had grown tired of running around and wanted to finally settle down and not have to worry about killing people all the time. C.C. still worked as a detective and made time for Ricky every night, no matter how demanding the case was. Sometimes Ricky would miss his old job and ability to plan strategic murders but he was content with where he was in life right now. 

The false reality Ricky had constructed for C.C. when they were living together in that small town had now become their reality, but a thousand times better. Ricky didn’t realize how emotionally draining and how morally conflicting all the tasks he did in the past were until now. Unfortunately, even though Ricky left his past behind him, it seemed like his past was always trailing him wherever he went, no matter how much he tried to avoid it. He found himself constantly thinking that he saw an old associate from his mob days but then discover that it was merely a person who vaguely looked like somebody he used to know. Ricky would also wake up in the middle of the night, the adrenaline rush of participating in organized crime calling to him. 

C.C. knew how often Ricky’s past haunted him and whenever Ricky woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep, C.C. would wake up and comfort him. C.C. didn’t mind comforting Ricky and was always there for him with a generous amount of patience and an open mind to listen. Ricky was really lucky to finally have found somebody who cared about him and accepted him despite everything he did in his past. No matter how much he did to clear his record, Ricky would always have these memories and see a monster whenever he looked in the mirror. But of course, he mostly kept these emotions to himself because that’s what he had learned to do. 

Ricky always had a feeling that his past would eventually catch up to him so he lived in the moment whenever he could. He never took a second he spent with C.C. as granted because he had a feeling that this life, as permanent as it felt, wasn’t going to stay this way for long, and he was correct. 

Ricky took C.C. to eat at an Italian restaurant and C.C. joked about Ricky being able to afford this with all the money he made before. Ricky obviously brushed off this joke, laughing along with his boyfriend but this led to his past popping up in the back of his mind again. The dinner date was quite pleasant and Ricky enjoyed simple dates where he got to sit down and talk with C.C. in a low-stress environment.

When Ricky waved over a waiter for the bill, he was shocked when the waiter brought back the checkbook with the bill already paid for. There was no name for whoever paid for it but there was a note tucked inside the checkbook. C.C. frowned as he took out the note and read it aloud, “‘You owe me one, big bro.’ Who could’ve sent this? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Don’t worry about it. We should get going,” Ricky curtly replied, standing up and gently taking the note away from C.C.’s hands. C.C. knew there was more than what Ricky was letting on and as he got into the passenger seat of Ricky’s car, he observed the tightening muscles in Ricky’s jaw and the way Ricky’s hands clenched the wheel so hard, his knuckles colored an unhealthy shade of white. If C.C. wasn’t so concerned about why the note had bothered Ricky, he would be making a joke about how Ricky looked like he had just seen a ghost. 

“What’s the note about?” C.C. pressed, following his instinct that there was more to the note than Ricky was letting on. 

“Nothing. I told you, don’t worry about it,” Ricky answered through clenched teeth, clearly set on the edge. He looked more frustrated than angry and that scared C.C. more because he knew that this was something much bigger than he anticipated. 

“Ricky, the last time you covered up something, that ended up with me getting kidnapped and you having to murder somebody so it’s probably a good idea to tell me what the note is referencing,” C.C. reasoned dryly, clearly starting to get fed up with Ricky. Ricky briefly switched his attention from the road to C.C. and after he saw his boyfriend’s expression, he sighed and caved.

“I’ll tell you when we get home. It’s a long story,” Ricky sighed in defeat and pressed his foot down on the gas pedal harder than he should have when the light turned green. When they got home, Ricky poured two mugs of tea and brought them to the dinner table, sitting across from C.C. as he prepared to tell the story. 

“First things first, you need to know that I have a younger brother. He goes by the name ‘Night Night’ but more on that later,” Ricky began and C.C. immediately looked surprised. He couldn’t blame C.C. for being so shocked; it wasn’t normal to find out your boyfriend had been hiding the fact that he had a brother. 

“Wait, how come I never met him? I hung out with you so much when we were younger and you never even mentioned him,” C.C. places his hands on the side of the mug, trying to maintain a calm composure despite just having learned vital information Ricky somehow managed to never mention in all their years spent together.

“My parents got divorced, remember? Basically, my mom thought my dad was starting to get too rowdy and less careful after getting involved with gangs and some stuff happened. And so, after my mom had me and my brother, they got divorced and my dad raised my brother and my mom raised me,” Ricky paused to take a sip of tea and to see if C.C. was following along. C.C. nodded, urging Ricky to continue on with his story. “So I was raised to get involved in higher-up criminal activity while Night Night was raised to fight in gangs. We don’t talk much but when we do, it’s just to ask for favors or information. A while back, I had to ask Night Night for some help for dealing with this one nosy detective and now I guess I need to return a favor.”

“Okay, I’ll go with you. He obviously needs help with something and I’m coming with you,” C.C. stated, his face set in a determined expression. When C.C. was determined, Ricky couldn’t stop him even if he tried.

“Are you sure? This favor could be dangerous,” Ricky reluctantly asked and C.C. nodded without hesitation. He sighed and took out his phone, texting Night Night for the first time in years.

-

They set a time, date, and location to meet and Ricky tells Night Night that he’s bringing Tinsley. C.C. doesn’t know what to expect from Night Night when he and Ricky show up to the warehouse where they’re supposed to meet Night Night. When C.C. and Ricky walked into the warehouse, C.C. saw Night Night sitting on a chair, a beer in hand. As they walked closer, he saw that Night Night shared some similar features with Ricky, like facial structure, but he gave a tougher impression than Ricky. There were bruises on his knuckles and scars on his neck. 

“So, this is your boy toy?” Night Night pointed to C.C. with the neck of his beer bottle, smirking at C.C. and Ricky’s reactions. 

“Don’t call him that. He’s a person,” Ricky snapped as he took a seat across from Night Night in a plastic fold-out chair and crossed his legs. C.C. gave Night Night a pointed look and Night Night raised his eyebrows, slightly amused.

“Alright. Whatever you want,” Night Night seemed to be enjoying himself a bit and C.C. started to wonder if he needed anything or if he just wanted to tease Ricky. 

Ricky apparently shared the same thought and crossed his arms as he asked, “Cut the crap, what do you want?”

“I’m calling in the favor you owe me. I need you to help me get an opposing gang off the charts,” Night Night’s collected act disappeared as worry was starting to show in his face. Ricky frowned at Night Night’s request, clearly contemplating whether he should agree to help.

“I don’t kill people anymore,” Ricky answered hesitantly, still silently debating if he should agree. He looked over at C.C., who was also deep in thought. He couldn’t tell if C.C. thought that the benefits outweighed the costs but had a feeling that C.C. wasn’t too stoked about the idea of Ricky getting involved in illegal activities again.

“You don’t have to kill them. You just have to get rid of them,” Night Night argued. Ricky knew that this task would be difficult and dangerous, regardless of whether he actually had to do any killing.

“Isn’t that the same thing?” C.C. chimes in, earning a chuckle from Night Night. Night Night waved a dismissive hand, breaking into an amused grin.

“So, are you going to help or not?” Night Night asked, looking Ricky in the eyes, covering up his fear of rejection well. 

“You’ll have to explain it a bit more before I agree. I need to know what I’m getting into if I agree to help,” Ricky replies and Night Night nodded. He took a sip from his bottle of beer and shifted in his seat before beginning to explain.

“Basically, my gang fought to get to the top of all the gangs and we’ve been there for years. Now, there’s a gang led by this psycho called Maizey and her gang is infiltrating our ranking really quickly,” Night Night explained and Ricky nodded to show that he was actively listening. “My boys and I have been trying to get rid of them but we need extra help.”

“We’ll do it,” C.C. answered and Ricky turned to state at his boyfriend. How C.C. always seemed to know what Ricky was thinking was a mystery Ricky was never going to be able to solve. 

“Are you sure you’re up for it? Gangs are different from serial killers,” Ricky gently asked, placing his hand on C.C.’s. Ricky almost never showed affection in public but in this situation, he needed to know that C.C. was comfortable with what he was agreeing to. When C.C. nodded, Night Night placed his empty beer bottle down and clapped his hands together loudly and obnoxiously. 

“Great! Now, I just need you to find out where they’re heading to next so we can be one step ahead,” Night Night grinned, obviously relieved that they had agreed to help. 

“I thought this was just a one-time thing. You know, just wipe them out and we’re done. It should be clean, easy, and simple,” Ricky frowned as Night Night broke out into laughter. Ricky didn’t enjoy getting involved in gang schemes as they were unnecessarily complicated sometimes. 

“Ricky, there’s nothing clean about gang rivalries. Getting rid of these people isn’t as easy as you think it is so it has to be a multiple step plan,” Night Night explained slowly as if he were telling a toddler how to add numbers.

“I can find out,” C.C. spoke up for the first time in a while and Night Night and Ricky both turned their heads towards him. Night Night’s expression was one of surprise while Ricky’s was one of concern. They both stared at him for a moment, shocked at his offer. C.C. simply shrugged and nonchalantly added, “After all, I’m a detective. Just because I’m not a psychopath it doesn’t mean I’m useless.”

Night Night nodded and cleared his throat before Ricky could start to intervene, “So it’s settled then. Find out by Wednesday night and meet me back here.”

By the time Ricky and C.C. drove back home, it was already dark, so they got into bed and got ready to sleep. As they were cuddling in bed, Ricky asked, “Are you sure you’re up for this? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt. I can handle myself,” C.C. pressed a gentle kiss to Ricky’s forehead and murmured. “Go to sleep now. You’re going to be tired in the morning.”

Ricky tried to fall asleep quickly but the thoughts in his head and worries kept him up. Eventually, even his brain was exhausted of Ricky’s contemplations and he drifted off to sleep with the taste of his past still burning on his tongue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c.c. and ricky get more involved in night night’s troubles than they want to

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please forgive me for making the hot daga relevant in this fic also i don’t know how gangs work oOps

C.C. woke up the morning after meeting Night Night, reluctant to face the day. Last night, he was confident and now, he still had some confidence but it was faltering. He noted that Ricky was still asleep and knew that his boyfriend probably stayed up thinking. C.C. had seen how bothered Ricky was but didn’t know it would get to the point where he would have trouble thinking.

C.C. sighed as he got dressed and headed to work, grabbing a bagel before driving to the office. When he arrived at the office, he greeted people with smiles and made small talk with a couple other detectives as he made himself a cup of coffee. He took a seat at his desk and even though he was technically supposed to be working on a case about agriculture, he prioritized finding out about Maizey’s gang. 

Information about gangs wasn’t easy to find and C.C. had to do quite a bit of digging to find out information about Maizey. Apparently, her gang was relatively new and many people had already made her their enemy. After doing a little more digging, C.C. finally found pictures of Maizey’s gang and he matches their faces with faces captured in public surveillance cameras. Technically, private detective agencies weren’t supposed to have access to surveillance cameras but after all C.C. did for the police, they were lenient enough to give him access to records.

After matching the faces to footage, C.C. did some research on the places that Maizey was visiting and checked some places the other members went to. Most of the places seemed innocent enough but there was one place that stood out. The shop that Maizey had gone into had a record of being involved with deals and shipments. C.C. did a little bit more digging and he discovered the store-owner’s records and saw that he had been communicating with Maizey the past couple of days. According to the records, the store-owner was supposed to fulfill a shipment weeks ago and in the footage, Maizey was arguing with the store-owner and waving her hands frantically around, clearly fed up. At one point, she even began picking objects up and throwing them at the wall, gesticulating wildly as she yelled. 

Under the “unfulfilled” label, the store-owner had made a note: “Not fulfilled, no refund.” C.C. traced the order back to the warehouse and discovered that there was a shipment of what Maizey had ordered arriving to the warehouse on Thursday, C.C. pieced the clues together. Maizey and her gang were going to the warehouse on Thursday night, when the shipment was coming and take what they wanted. By the time C.C. had figured this out, he looked at the clock and was surprised to find that it was already 6 o’clock in the evening and he was supposed to get home by 5. He grabbed his coat and quickly left work, hoping that Ricky wouldn’t be too anxious.

When he arrived home, he was greeted by Ricky’s warm hug and kisses peppered across his cheek. C.C. grinned as Ricky murmured about how much he was worried about C.C., despite him only being an hour late. Ricky was clingy and possessive but C.C. found his boyfriend’s habits adorable. When C.C. finally pulled away, he explained what he had discovered and Ricky seemed astonished that C.C. actually was able to accomplish the task by himself. 

Since Maizey was planning to show up at the warehouse on Thursday night, Ricky immediately contacted Night Night so they could meet and discuss plans. He didn’t want C.C. getting involved in any logistics of the plans but C.C. continued to insist. Their relationship had really been changing the past couple of days due to the tension surrounding Night Night but the change wasn’t necessarily bad, it was just… different. Ricky had begun to trust C.C. more and C.C. spoke up more about his feelings rather than keeping his thoughts to himself.

Night Night showed up at their house and they quickly crafted a simple plan. Ricky would get an extremely explosive bomb and plant it in the warehouse through his past relations, which Night Night decided to heavily gamble on. When Maizey and her gang arrived in the warehouse to get the materials, Ricky just needed to push a button and they would be finished. C.C. felt like the plan was too simple but Ricky insisted that there shouldn’t be overcomplications. Again, his motto was “clean, easy, and simple” and that was just about what his plan was, other than the fact that the warehouse might get a bit messy after the explosion. 

Night Night agreed to bring some of the men with him for back-up, in case the plan went off the rails. The day following the creation of the plan, C.C. spent the majority of his time worrying about Ricky. He has seen how hesitant Ricky was to contact his old relations as they probably brought back bad memories of when Ricky had lied and meddled with C.C.’s trust. If Ricky had guiltlessly and enthusiastically agreed to help Night Night, C.C. would still be in emotional pain as that meant Ricky felt no remorse for hurting C.C. in the past. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation for C.C.

Ricky and C.C. didn’t take their time eating dinner as they usually did and tried to keep thoughts about the inevitable at bay by making small talk. Even on the way to the warehouse, Ricky and C.C. managed to joke about C.C.’s job, creating a thin, temporary veil of peace for them. Night Night and his men were already waiting in their positions and Ricky parked his car at a corner facing the warehouse. The seconds ticking down until the shipment arrived seemed to drag on longer and C.C. wondered if time miraculously decided to slow down the only time C.C. wanted it to fly by so he wouldn’t have to stay anxious for longer.

When they finally saw Maizey and a couple of her gang members slip into the warehouse, C.C. didn’t know whether he should be worried that trouble was closer now that Maizey was here or he should be relieved that it was all about to be over and that he and Ricky could return to their normal lives after this whole debacle. 

Maizey looked more threatening in real life than in the surveillance footage. In the surveillance footage, Maizey just looked like an insane psycho with green hair and a tendency to break the arm of anybody who wanted to argue with her. Now, Maizey looked like she was ready to break the entire body of anybody who even dared to glance over at her. Night Night had set up a surveillance camera in the warehouse and was on a call with Ricky, updating him as Maizey entered the warehouse.

“They don’t suspect a thing and the package is arriving soon. Wait, I think the package just came,” Ricky sat up in his seat, taking his phone out and getting ready to press the button and suddenly Night Night let out a string of curse words. “Mike found the camera, I think they know there’s a bomb there. Ricky, you have to get rid of them now.”

“On it,” Ricky replied and C.C. watched as his boyfriend tapped a couple buttons on his phone. He anticipated the loud explosion and rattling of the car as the warehouse blew up but nothing happened. Ricky frowned as he asked, “Did one of them disable the bomb? It isn’t working.”

“The footage has been messed with, we’re sending back-up in now!” Night Night sounded panicked and the call abruptly ended. Ricky gave C.C. a rushed kissed on the cheek and quickly told him not to go anywhere. C.C. knew that this time he should follow Ricky’s advice because he was confident that he would be able to perform all the other tasks but fighting was an area where C.C. wasn’t so confident in. 

Admittedly, C.C. was worried that Ricky was going to get himself as even though Ricky killed many people before, he most likely never got involved with gangs and had to kill so many people. There was a loud explosion, the one C.C. had been anticipating moments earlier, and he got out of the car, running to the ruins of the building after the debris finished flying everywhere. He didn’t see Maizey and her gang flee but he didn’t see their bodies among the rubble so he knew they must have managed to slip away without anybody noticing. 

Among the scattered pieces of the warehouse, C.C. saw Ricky struggling to stand up and he ran over to his boyfriend to help him up. Ricky didn’t look too terrible; he had a couple of scratches on his face and his lip was split open and slowly bleeding. His ankle, however, was a different story as something was definitely off about his ankle, possibly from damage from the explosion or a blow to the said body part. As C.C. helped Ricky up, he saw other members from Night Night’s gang starting to get up as well, dazed and confused. He heard police sirens in the distance and the fire department was probably alerted by now. Night Night saw C.C. helping Ricky to his car as quickly as possible and briefly shouted, “Meet at the rendezvous point!”

C.C. guided Ricky, who was limping due to an injury in his left ankle, to the passenger seat of the car and started up the car. The barely conscious Ricky managed to give C.C. the address of the rendezvous point Night Night mentioned and C.C. stepped on the gas as they fled the scene. He had a feeling that the reason why they didn’t go home was that Maizey had a good look at Ricky’s face and was probably sending people to their house to kill him. Hopefully wherever the rendezvous point was was safer than home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lucy goldsworth helps c.c. and ricky our as they talk about what to do about maizey and her gang

C.C. pressed the doorbell near the door of the house he arrived at. He still has no idea why this was the rendezvous point but Ricky seemed to be confident that this place was the place they should go to. Ricky was still in a terrible state, barely conscious and barely able to walk. However, he still gritted his teeth and with the help of C.C., got out of the car and ambled over to the house. A middle-aged woman answered the door and while she had a frown on her face initially, it morphed into a smile when she saw C.C. Tinsley. C.C. recognized her as Lucy Goldsworth, Ricky’s mother and it had been years since he last met her.

“C.C. Tinsley! It’s been so long! Ricky, what happened to you? Come in,” The lady opened the door wide and C.C. helped Ricky walk into the house. Ricky’s arm was pressed onto the top of C.C.’s shoulders and he had to lean all his weight to the side without the broken ankle in order to achieve some sort of movement. When he finally got on the couch, he practically collapsed into the cushion, wincing in pain. The bruising around his ankle looked worse now and the lady walked into the living room with a first aid kit in her hands. C.C. thanked her and opened the kit, taking out the materials he needed. He carefully propped Ricky’s ankle up on a soft cushion and murmured soothing words to Ricky, knowing that he was still experiencing pain.

“You’ve grown so much! Ricky tells me all about you. I’m glad that you helped him sort out his life,” Mrs. Goldsworth smiled as Ricky managed an exasperated sigh at the mention of him telling his mother about his boyfriend. C.C. took out the ice pack and gently pressed it to Ricky’s ankle, causing Ricky to hiss in pain. He held the ice pack to Ricky’s ankle as he took out a couple of band-aids, applying them to the small cuts on the other parts of Ricky’s body. 

“I love you but you’re an idiot sometimes. Why did you go in to fight?” C.C. asked as he dabbed at a cut with an alcohol wipe to clean it. Ricky’s grimace softened after hearing C.C. say ‘I love you’ and his eyes were filled with affection.

“I guess I underestimated how many people Maizey brought with her. I thought I would be able to take them with the help of Night Night’s boys but I guess not,” Ricky let out another hiss of pain as C.C. gently pressed the ice pack down on his ankle. C.C. shook his head, chuckling to himself, amused by his boyfriend’s efforts to be valiant. He pressed a kiss to Ricky’s forehead as he packed up the first aid kit and proceeded to discard the backings of the band-aids into the trash.

While C.C. was taking care of Ricky, Lucy had left the room and returned with two cups of tea in dainty porcelain cups. She handed C.C. a cup and set the other on the table next to Ricky. C.C. smiled when he saw that the tea was C.C.’s favorite type, meaning that Lucy still remembered C.C. from his childhood with Ricky. 

“You try too hard to be a hero sometimes. You need to watch out for yourself,” C.C. murmured as he scooted closer to Ricky, allowing his boyfriend to kiss him on the cheek. He slowly ran a thumb across Ricky’s lower lip, still in awe at Ricky’s beauty despite the damage he had gone through. Some people’s beauty seemed to fade after time spent around them but with Ricky, he only got prettier every time C.C. looked at him. Sure, C.C. was in love but there was nobody who could deny that Ricky was one of the most handsome men on this planet. 

“Says you, who volunteered to find out information about Maizey’s gang. You’re getting more reckless and I think I’ve rubbed off on you. You need to be more careful or you’re going to get yourself hurt,” Ricky took a sip of his tea, smiling as C.C. softly nudged Ricky, pretending to be offended. This caused Ricky to laugh affectionately, leaning into C.C.’s shoulder. The ice pack on his ankle was growing warmer and the bruising was still bad but it was getting better. C.C. smoothly intertwined his fingers with Ricky’s and he didn’t hesitate to plant another kiss on Ricky’s forehead. 

“Nah, I think my bravery came from surviving a kidnapping,” C.C. joked, taking a quick sip of his tea, and Ricky laughed his wonderful, melodious laugh. Even though they weren’t in the most ideal situation right now, C.C. wanted this moment of intimacy to last. This was the most relaxed and affectionate the couple had gotten ever since Night Night waltzed into their life with the demanding request. Suddenly, their moment of joy was ruined by somebody knocking on the door. 

As Lucy answered the door, Ricky stiffened, slightly more alert than before, but he didn’t budge from his position. Night Night entered the living room with two men by his side and Ricky sat up straighter, trying to seem more composed and less bristled by the pain he had endured. He put on his mask of toughness again as he cleared his throat and roughly asked, “So, that plan clearly didn’t work. We underestimated this gang’s ability.” 

“Yeah, no shit,” The blonde man quipped as he crossed his arms roughly. He was standing next to a tall man that had ridiculously long legs and a height that almost intimidated C.C. Night Night saw C.C.’s confused expression and gave his men a pointed look. The blonde man turned to C.C. and stated, “The name’s Silent J Ilnyckyj. That’s Legs Madej. Just call us the Silent J’s. We’re Night Night’s right-hand men.”

“We have to be careful about our second plan. They’re onto us now and we can’t afford to slip up again,” Ricky winced as he shifted his ankle’s position on the cushions. His bruises reminded everybody in the room of the unspoken consequences of failing again. Night Night finally showed some guilt for placing Ricky in a hazardous situation but still didn’t call off the favor and C.C. was starting to get irritated. They had gone through all this work just to have Ricky severely hurt and a target planted on their lives. 

“Well, do you have any better ideas?” C.C. snapped, his frustration starting to reveal itself in his voice. The Silent J’s and Night Night exchanged a knowing glance and Night Night sighed wearily before he spoke. 

“We discussed a back-up plan before but I know Ricky isn’t going to like it.” A dark look crossed over Ricky’s face as he tried to imagine what the plan would include. C.C., however, didn’t seem to be bothered by this and gestured for Night Night to continue on to explain his plan. 

“We could send you to join the gang and infiltrate the operation from the inside,” Night Night suggested and Ricky’s eyes flared with anger. Considering that Ricky had just told C.C. that he didn’t want his boyfriend running around and getting hurt, Ricky’s reaction was considered mild. If Ricky wasn’t in pain right now, maybe his reaction would be more explosive but thanks to his damaged ankle, he couldn’t exactly get up and threaten to slit Night Night’s throat for suggesting such a plan.

Instead of throwing his cup of tea at his brother, Ricky shook his head and replied, “There’s no way that’s happening. I’m not putting C.C. in any more danger.”

“I could do it. I wouldn’t mind.” Night Night turned towards C.C., surprised at his contradictory reaction. Part of C.C. wanted to prove that he was just as good as anybody in this room and the other part of him wanted to help Ricky finish off this favor so Night Night wouldn’t have to bother them and he and Ricky could live together in peace again.

“I have another riskier plan that could work. This isn’t our only option,” Ricky argued, clearly upset about the idea of putting C.C. in more danger. C.C. gave Night Night a meaningful look and Night Night stepped outside of the living room, gesturing for his men to follow him. When they left the room, C.C. turned towards Ricky and held his boyfriend’s hands, finally feeling comfortable enough to express his thoughts. He heard Lucy hand Night Night and the Silent J’s cups of tea and took a deep breath, imagining that they were simply back in high school and he was just trying to convince Ricky to let him stay up late to finish an English assignment instead of trying to convince Ricky to let him get tangled up in a risky plan.

“Look, Ricky, I know you don’t want me in danger but I can handle it, I promise. You have to trust me. I trust you and I need you to do the same for me, okay?” Hearing this, Ricky’s anger faded quickly and he heaved a defeated sigh as he nodded in agreement. He still seemed very reluctant to allow C.C. to agree to this plan but if C.C. really believed he could handle it, Ricky decided that it was best to let him. 

“You have to be careful. The last thing I need is you getting hurt,” Ricky bit back his tears as he imagined having to live with the guilt of having his boyfriend hurt because of Night Night’s plan but as C.C. had insisted, Ricky had to trust his boyfriend. Besides, he always had his own back-up plan if the plan went horribly wrong, though, admittedly, his plan was the last option. 

“Thank you for trusting me,” C.C. mumbled before he kissed Ricky lightly on the lips and called Night Night and the Silent J’s back into the living room. He hadn’t realized that he forgot to untangle his fingers from Ricky’s and felt Ricky squeeze his hand nervously as C.C. told Night Night that Ricky had agreed to let him carry out the plan. Night Night offered a conservative smile, smothering down his excitement for Ricky’s benefit. 

As Night Night sat down and explained the plan with the help of his right-hand men, Ricky didn’t let go of C.C.’s hands and maintained his calm. C.C. listened to their plan and focused on perfecting the details and strengthening strategies. There were some aspects of the plan that were extremely risky but C.C. gritted his teeth and agreed to follow through, knowing that if he succeeded, it would benefit everybody. After all, some sacrifices had to be made for a happy ending, right?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c.c. didn’t know what to expect but he knows he didn’t expect things to be taken this far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: death + funeral, descriptions of murder

C.C. didn’t know how exactly to get initiated into a gang but he knew that he definitely wasn’t going to find a website, submit his resume, and go to an interview. Night Night explained that he had created his gang based on legacy, namely his infamous father who used to be a famous gang leader. C.C. didn’t have any background that involved gangs or illegal activity so he was already at a disadvantage but the one thing he did have to his advantage was a connection with Night Night. Since C.C. didn’t join the fight when Night Night first tried to take down Maizey’s gang, Maizey didn’t know that C.C. was involved. As far as she knew, he was only Ricky’s partner and could fully well not know what Ricky was up to so if C.C. volunteered to help out Maizey, he would be seen as an asset as he could provide information about Night Night.

Now the difficult part was finding Maizey and getting her to accept his request. Night Night promised that he would take care of finding her whereabouts this time as they probably went off the charts after knowing that Night Night was on their tail and that it would be harder to find without the help of relations. Once Night Night found the location of Maizey’s meeting point, he sent the address to C.C. and told the detective to claim he used his detective skills to find the location. 

The next issue was initiating C.C. into the gang. He wasn’t going to be let in easily, even if he was going to help the gang by supplying information about Night Night that they wouldn’t find anywhere else. Night Night didn’t know what C.C. had to do to get initiated but he knew that it would be something that C.C. could handle. As C.C. read online, some initiations were simpler, like getting beaten up to see how tough one was, but some initiations involved harder tasks to prove one’s ability, such as killing somebody. C.C. hoped that he wouldn’t have to perform the latter and hoped for the best because that was all he could do. 

So, C.C. showed up to a dark alleyway during midnight and waited for Maizey to show up. As he waited, he contemplated all his life choices that led up to this one moment. He still had trouble remembering that at one point in his life, Ricky was his childhood best friend because Ricky was almost a stranger now. He had changed so much but obviously, he still kept his affection for C.C. and uncanny interest in murders. If C.C. had never met Ricky when he was a child, he would never have found Ricky and he would have never run away with Ricky twice. C.C. could’ve been married and officially settled down with a family like a normal person would but in some ways, C.C. didn’t mind the lifestyle he lived.

There were some downsides, like Ricky’s past constantly chasing after them no matter how fast they ran, but C.C. wouldn’t give up his life if it meant that he would never get to kiss Ricky again. He couldn’t imagine a world where he wouldn’t wake up to the feeling of having Ricky ensconced in his arms in the morning or a world where he didn’t look forward to coming home and being greeted by Ricky’s passionate kisses. Ricky’s tough personality he presented to everybody else was misleading as C.C. would describe him similarly to how Fran described him when he and C.C. had their big fight: a big softie. C.C. caught himself smiling as his head flooded with memories of him and Ricky enjoying life together and pressed down his smile, hoping that by maintaining a neutral expression, he would seem more approachable and less suspicious. 

When C.C. glanced down at his watch, he saw that it was five past midnight and Maizey and her gang still hadn’t arrived. He still wasn’t exactly sure what Maizey was arriving to do but he knew that she was going to be here and this was his only chance to convince her. There would be no second chances; he either got accepted or killed, there was no in between. It seemed like C.C.’s life was composed of a lot of extremities. He either had to live a life without the love of his life or live a life with the love of his life being a serial killer/criminal mastermind whose past had a tendency to mess up everything. 

Before C.C. could delve further into the themes that seemed to reappear in life and wonder how he ended up in such a difficult position, he heard a bullet click into a barrel and turned around to meet the muzzle of a handgun. He wasn’t expecting anything less threatening and as his eyes focused past the muzzle, he saw Maizey’s face. She still looked scarily intimidating but C.C. remained calm, his expression unwavering. Talking normally with a gun pointed to your face took a lot of skill but since C.C. had to deal with being threatened a lot, he managed to keep his cool. 

“Hello, Maizey. Glad to finally meet you,” C.C. felt like he should hold out a hand for Maizey to shake but Maizey still had the muzzle pointed at his face so he simply brushed off specks of dust from his coat. The gang leader didn’t seem particularly shocked that C.C. was here and waited a beat before asking. 

“How did you find out I was going to be here?” Maizey interrogated, an edge creeping into her gruff voice. Her green hair somehow made her eyes seem more intimidating and small rocks crunched underneath her boots as she shifted her weight, moving the muzzle slightly farther away from C.C.’s face. She probably realized that by moving the gun away from C.C.’s face would help him talk easier.

“Detective work. I don’t think we ever met. I’m C.C. Tinsley,” Again, C.C. had the stupid urge to be more formal and stick out his hand for a handshake and again, he had to remind himself that there was a gun pointed at his face. He didn’t want to seem polite as people always assumed that being polite meant one was weak and one had a soft heart so he dropped the nice act.

“You know who I am. Why are you here?” Maizey gripped the gun tighter, her jaw clenching as her suspicion intensified again. C.C. felt the state of the security camera in the corner of the building that was staring down at them. He knew that Ricky and Night Night were watching through the camera and hoped that they knew that he didn’t mean everything he was about to say.

“I want help taking down Night Night and Ricky. You know how Ricky and I were together, right? Well, I had no idea he was going behind my back so I did a little digging and I found that he was lying and he didn’t apologize. I’m just really pissed and I want to take him and his brother down but I obviously need help so I found you,” C.C. nonchalantly answered, crossing his arms as Maizey lowered her gun, sticking it into the pocket of her jacket. Her intimidating hazel eyes bore holes stronger than those made by lasers into C.C.’s body as she scanned him up and down, gauging his abilities based on appearance. C.C. wasn’t the most physically fit person but he could put up a good fight if needed.

“There are other ways to take him down, you know that right?” Maizey seemed to still be suspicious but at least she was interested now, an upgrade from her pointing a gun to C.C.’s face. 

“I know. I just thought that if I wanted to take him down for good, I had to work with the best of the best,” C.C. offered a sly smirk, hoping his coy act was convincing Maizey. He felt more powerful than he had ever felt and started to understand why Ricky sought this rush of adrenaline. As C.C. was acting out his role, he pretended to be an entirely different person, which gave him the excuse to act cooler than he actually was and seem more confident than he felt. He had to remind himself that he was here on a mission and that he shouldn’t get too caught up in acting. 

“Makes sense. Well, in order to join, you’ll have to pass a test. If you pass the test, we know we can trust you but if you don’t, you’re not going to be around for much longer,” Maizey’s grin was as threatening as her glance and she began brushing past C.C., heading in the direction she had been heading towards originally. 

“What’s the test going to be?” C.C. asked and Maizey stopped in her tracks, turning around slowly to meet his eyes. A thoughtful look crossed her face and she smirked thoughtfully for a second before replying.

“It’s different for everybody. I will consult with the others to design a test that would best suit you. But for now, just know that anything that happens could be us testing you. Watch your back,” Maizey concluded ominously before hurrying away, leaving C.C. to stand in the cold for a second to process that whole interaction before briskly walking to the spot where Night Night and Ricky were waiting in the car to pick him up.

Even though Ricky complained that gangs were too rough and informal for him, C.C. still thought that Maizey remained pretty civil during their conversation. The detective had dealt with plenty of criminals who were more brash and outgoing than Maizey but then again, none of them really had long term motives or the goal to threaten and thrive in a large city. 

Once C.C. got into the backseat of the dark car Night Night drove, Ricky didn’t hesitate to kiss him on the cheek. He seemed unexceptionally relieved that C.C. was alive and well and because of this, Ricky seemed to be more affectionate and touchy than he usually was. Ricky hadn’t kissed C.C. this often in front of Night Night but he just seemed to be glad that his boyfriend’s face didn’t have a bullet in it. 

“Nice work, C.C. I don’t have a clue what the test is but I’m sure we can handle it,” Night Night reassured as he drove steadily through the empty streets, not bothering to stop long at stop signs and running a couple of red lights on the way back to Lucy’s house. C.C. managed a smile but his gut told him that the test could be worse than they expected as that seemed to be a common trend with Maizey’s gang and boy did he hope that his instincts were wrong this time.

~

Two days had passed since C.C. talked with Maizey and there was no sign of the test being initiated. He had been on the edge and jumpier than usual but he had to cover it up. Ricky had been snappier than usual towards everybody, according to Night Night, the whole situation clearly made him tenser as well. He couldn’t be seen with C.C. so C.C. and Ricky didn’t spend a lot of time together and when they did, they had to keep it quiet and this prevented them from doing a lot of things, which was probably the reason why he seemed constantly frustrated with everybody. 

C.C. stayed as far away as possible from Night Night and Ricky because he had a feeling that Maizey was keeping a close eye on his movements. Even when driving, he felt like Maizey was watching through security cameras of nearby stores and he didn’t even feel safe at work. He was careful to always pile up pillows under the covers in his hotel room to mimic a body sleeping before sneaking out to meet with Ricky. At this point, he just wanted Maizey to initiate the test so he could get it over with quickly so he could go back to living his normal life. 

While C.C. didn’t consider himself a particularly selfless person, Ricky always thanked C.C. for sacrificing so much to help him fulfill a large favor. All C.C. wanted to do was protect his boyfriend and if it meant that he would have to get hurt while doing it, so be it. But then again, if C.C. got hurt, Ricky would feel guilty for putting his boyfriend in such a position and that wouldn’t be great for the both of them. Ricky and C.C. loved each other into pieces and it made it hard for them to trust each other but they worked hard to talk about it and Ricky allowing C.C. to agree to join Maizey was one of the biggest steps towards achieving full trust. 

On the topic of getting hurt, C.C. most definitely expected himself to get hurt in some form, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally but by putting his own health at risk, he thought that nobody else would be in danger of getting hurt if his acting was proficient and convincing. Sadly, C.C. was sorely mistaken. 

The detective was still at work, busying himself by examining evidence and digging through records to research the suspect’s past relations with the client when he received a call from Ricky. He picked up the phone when it rang, obviously not knowing that Ricky was the one who called and asked calmly, “C.C. Tinsley, private investigator. How may I help you today?”

“C.C., Lucy’s dead. Maizey murdered her,” Ricky’s voice was the most emotionless C.C. had ever heard it and C.C. tried to remain calm despite the panic building up in his chest. He knew that this situation was going to spiral out of control if he didn’t do something to calm Ricky down. Ricky may have sounded calm but C.C. knew that the eerie calm in Ricky’s voice meant that Ricky was starting to slowly slip back into his psychopathic mindset. 

C.C.’s concern about Ricky overrode the shock of the news and it wouldn’t be until later that night when he was able to fully process that his best friend’s mom, a wonderful woman who used to always drive down to the local library to borrow movies for C.C. and Ricky to watch during sleepovers, was now deceased. Since C.C. was still at work and he couldn’t act like he was comforting Ricky, he maintained a dull, slightly empathetic voice as he replied, “How would you know?”

“She left a note, that bitch. I can’t believe she- she’s insane and I should kill her for it. My mother never did anything wrong and Maizey deserves to die for killing the only parent who actually cared about me.” A suppressed sob clipped the end of Ricky’s sentence as the emotion in his voice escalated. Twirling the phone cord around his index finger, C.C. tried to think quickly about how to calm Ricky down before he could get out of control and hurt somebody. He heard Ricky let out another choked out sob as he began to threaten, “I’m going to rip her fingers off one by one and shove them down her throat. I’m going to tear her apart into a million different pieces so that she can feel the pain that I’m feeling now. I hope she enjoys the feeling of a knife hacking into her bones.”

“Calm down. Stick to the plan. There’s no need to get so worked up,” C.C. lowered his voice, glancing down at his shoes so nobody could read his expression. He heard Ricky take a deep, shuddering breaths and sigh in defeat as he began to reason rationally. 

“You’re right. Night Night and I are going to arrange her funeral with some other friends. Are you going to come?” Right when Ricky asked the question of whether C.C. was planning to attend the funeral, the pieces clicked together in his brain. C.C. suddenly realized that this was the test; Maizey was testing C.C.’s loyalty and honesty by killing Lucy and seeing if C.C. would attend the funeral. If he was seen attending the funeral, he was a liar and the entire plan would be ruined but if C.C. didn’t show up to his boyfriend’s mother’s funeral, he could be seen as still furious with Ricky.

“I can’t. You know why,” C.C. answered vaguely and he could almost see Ricky nodding in defeat in his head. Ricky assumed that the reason why C.C. couldn’t make it to the funeral was that he was afraid of being seen with Ricky, which was partially correct, but he most likely had no idea that this was the test Maizey mentioned. Right now wasn’t the correct time to inform Ricky of this as if C.C. told Ricky that his mother’s death was a test of loyalty, Ricky would lose control and ruin the flow of the plan. 

“Alright. I miss you,” Ricky’s voice sounded wistful and nostalgic as if he and C.C. were living in different continents rather than just a couple miles away from each other. He had the right to miss C.C. because he barely got to kiss his boyfriend without worrying about a security camera catching them in the act. 

“Miss you too. I have to get back to work. Bye,” C.C. concluded, ending the call by setting the phone down. He glanced around, scanning the office to see if anybody had been watching him or listening to his call but everybody was busy with work, too absorbed in their own worries to pay attention to C.C.. Now that the test had started, all C.C. had to do was to wait for Maizey to watch from afar. 

~

The funeral was hosted on a Saturday. There was not a single cloud drifting in the sunny blue sky and the cheerful weather contradicted the gloominess of the event. C.C. felt absolutely terrible for cooping himself up in his room and reading newspapers and occasionally glancing at some case files for work instead of supporting his boyfriend and long-time best friend at the funeral of his parental figure who used to treat C.C. like he was her own son.

Distracting himself by reading and working wasn’t effective so C.C. stood up and began to pace his room, hoping that he didn’t look too anxious. He felt like somebody’s eyes were glued to his back as he paced back and forth, trying to seem unbothered by the feeling of the world shattering into pieces around him. C.C. tried not to think about the fact that somebody was watching his every movement and pretended that he was just spending a normal Saturday afternoon in his hotel room. 

To be honest, it probably was for the better that the test had happened within a few days of meeting as it would have been suspicious if C.C. stayed in the hotel room for a long duration of time without finding a permanent place to live. The hotel room was a hoax and simply part of the plan to convince Maizey that C.C. was truly angry with Ricky (so angry that he decided to move out, hence the temporary residence at the hotel). It was a little nerve-racking for C.C. to know that he had to keep this act up because this was the only shot they had and those nerves were amplified now as C.C. thought about how one person’s life had to be taken in order for this plan to work. This was a perfect example of how the world was a cruel place to be living in and humans were the ones making it so. 

At night, when C.C. was talking with Ricky in Night Night’s dark car, he still had a feeling that somebody was watching him even though Night Night had made sure the coast was clear. Ricky was clearly upset and he rambled in a low voice about Lucy didn’t know many people other than her clients so the funeral was small and private and how she deserved better. Ricky never mentioned how the absence of his father in his childhood affected him but the death of Lucy showed how much he cared for his mother and how much he relied on her for comfort. C.C. hugged his boyfriend as he began full-on crying and he felt the guilt rise up in his stomach. 

Ricky didn’t blame Lucy’s death on C.C. but C.C. still felt like he played an essential role in her death but kept his suspicions quiet. When he had to return to his hotel room, the empty space next to him felt colder than usual and C.C. had trouble falling asleep. Now that Maizey saw that C.C. didn’t show up to the funeral, she knew that she could trust him and he should be notified of being accepted at any moment. Just as C.C. expected, there was a note waiting on the desk in the morning with instructions for meeting up and the sentence: “You’re one of us now.” C.C. had a hard time dulling down his reaction as that one sentence held more truth than he wanted it to hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> book 3 (the final installment) is coming soon!

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr[@luckysam78](https://luckysam78.tumblr.com/)! my bfu sideblog is [@tinsley-goldsworth](https://tinsley-goldsworth.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> the last part to this series will be coming soon! comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


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